OES during reforming of methane by microwave plasma at atmospheric pressure

Abstract

Reform of methane was produced in a quartz tube by microwave plasma at atmospheric pressure. A flux of 10 l/min and 5 l/min of pure argon was inserted in the plasma and then a small amount of methane (from 0.5 to 5 sccm) was added to the argon. The species present in the plasma at discharge and post-discharge were monitored by optical emission spectroscopy (OES) diagnostic during the process. The efficiency of dissociation was evaluated by both the density of species H α (656.6 nm) and CH (431.4 nm).